Delicate goods holder, its manufacturing and use

ABSTRACT

The invention provides packaging means which are formed by holders suitable for transport and storage of delicate goods such as fruit, sweets such as chocolate, flowers, glass objects, Christmas decorations, electronic components and the like, wherein the holders are separated from each other by a standing wall. Recommended for larger objects such as apples and the like are holders with the upper part in folded-back form, particularly those wherein the rib profiling of the upper and lower parts take an integral form and thereby enclose firmly the object for transporting (FIG.  4   b ). Smaller objects can advantageously be transported on a mattress of upper parts of smaller holders (FIG.  5   b ).

[0001] The invention relates to packaging means which are formed byholders suitable for transport and storage of delicate goods such asfruit, sweets such as chocolate, flowers, glass objects, Christmasdecorations, electronic components and the like, wherein the holders areseparated from each other by a standing wall.

[0002] Owing to the increase in world trade, the time involved intransport and storage of goods for transport is increasing considerably.For the packaging industry it is therefore becoming increasinglyimportant to produce means with which delicate and perishable goods canbe transported and stored during standstill in the most shockproof andpressure-proof manner possible.

[0003] Packaging means for larger fruits such as tomatoes, apples,peaches and the like with separate holders are known. Transported inthis manner, for instance the peaches do not damage each other by mutualcontact, although damage does occur through contact with the bottom partof the holder, particularly in the case of ripe fruit. There is fartheralso a need for improved packaging means for small fruit such asstrawberries, cherries and the like, for which separate packaging is noteconomically viable.

[0004] A packaging means according to the present invention generallyconsists of a plurality of holders. Such a holder consists of a bottomsurface which encloses a standing cover layer originating therefrom andsituated around a round opening in the bottom surface, which cover layerconsists of two parts, i.e. a wall-shaped lower part and a domed upperpart, wherein the upper part is preferably thinner than the lower part.According to one aspect of the invention this holder can advantageouslybe used in folded-back form, wherein a folding edge results. Thefolded-back domed upper part preferably does not contact the surface onwhich the bottom surface rests. When a fruit is placed in such a holder,it is situated in a so-called hammock without pressure being exertedanywhere on the fruit.

[0005] The holder generally consists of thermoformed plastic,particularly one of the following plastics, polystyrene, polyethylene,polypropylene or polyvinyl chloride, wherein the thickness of thestarting material is about 0.1-1 mm and the thickness of the plastic ofthe lower part and of the domed upper part of the holder is about0.002-0.5 mm after forming by heating and deformation. The upper part isherein generally at least twice, preferably at least ten times and morepreferably at least twenty times thinner than the lower part. The upperpart preferably further has a smaller diameter than the lower part,preferably a minimum of 1 mm smaller. These characteristics give theholder strength and resilience and simplify folding back of the upperpart.

[0006] The lower and upper part of the cover layer are preferablyprofiled, for instance ribbed, in the same manner, wherein the ribs ofthe lower part preferably run over into the upper part. The holderprofiled in this manner is exceptionally flexible and has anadvantageous harmonica-effect wherein the holder can expand at theposition of the folding edge and more products can be transported persurface area of packaging means than if the holder were not to yield, orhardly so, to the shape of the product for storing. Such aharmonica-effect also provides a better enclosure of the product,whereby it is packaged more firmly. The lower part preferably standsslightly conically on the bottom surface, so that the above statedharmonica-effect is utilized as well as possible. Holders with any otherprofiling, whether or not this be the same for the different parts ofthe cover layer, otherwise also form part of the subject of theinvention.

[0007] The upper part of the above described holder can consist of aplurality of parts which are increasingly thinner as seen from the lowerpart. In some constructions, wherein the transitions between thedifferent parts do not have to run parallel to the separation of thelower and upper parts of the holder, it is possible, depending on theshape of the product for transport or storage, to make even better useof the hammock principle. The oval shape of an egg can for instance beenvisaged here.

[0008] The present invention is further elucidated with reference to thefollowing schematic drawings:

[0009]FIG. 1a shows a front view of one holder consisting of a bottomsurface (6) and a cover layer with a lower part (3) and a domed upperpart (1).

[0010]FIG. 1b is a front view of one holder consisting of a bottomsurface (6) and a cover layer with a lower part (3) and a domed upperpart (1), wherein the ribs (4) of the lower part continue into the upperpart.

[0011]FIG. 2 is a front view of a holder with the domed upper part infolded back form (5) at the folding edge (2) having therein an objectfor transport or storage such as a fruit.

[0012]FIG. 3 shows a top view of one holder wherein the ribs (4) of thelower part continue into the upper part.

[0013] A plurality of holders as described above together generally forma packaging device wherein the bottom surfaces form the base. Exampleshereof are shown schematically in FIGS. 4 and 5:

[0014]FIGS. 4a and 4 b show a front view of a packaging deviceconsisting of a plurality of holders mutually connected by their bottomsurfaces to form a base (7).

[0015]FIGS. 5a and 5 b show a cross-section of a packaging deviceconsisting of a plurality of holders mutually connected by their bottomsurfaces with the upper part in folded-back form lower than the bottomsurface (FIG. 5a) and wherein the objects for storage can be stored ontop of the mattress (FIG. 5b) formed by turning over (and adjusting ofthe standing side).

[0016] According to one preferred embodiment of the invention the upperpart of the holders in the packaging device is higher than the bottomsurface when folded back, i.e. the surface on which the holder rests isnot reached by the object resting in the folded-back upper part; theobjects for transport and/or storage each rest in a separate holder inthe folded-back upper part. This embodiment, shown in FIGS. 4a and 4 b,is particularly suitable for relatively larger objects, and inparticular for larger items of fruit, such as tomatoes, pears, apples,oranges, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots and the like, but also forother vulnerable foods such as eggs and chocolates and glass objectssuch as Christmas decorations and the like. It will become apparent froma comparison of the two figures that in the packaging device wherein theprofiling is such that the ribs of both parts run over into each otheras shown in FIG. 4b, the angle of the holder to the bottom surface canbe almost 90° since a strong harmonica-effect of the holder occurs. Aneconomic advantage is thus obtained in this embodiment since per unit ofsurface area more or larger pieces of fruit can be transported, whichare furthermore enclosed more firmly by the ‘hammock’.

[0017] According to another preferred embodiment the upper part of theholders which form the packaging device is on the contrary lower thanthe bottom surface when folded back. (see FIG. 5a). The packaging deviceis preferably applied in this embodiment as follows: the upper part ofthe holder is folded back, but instead of being placed in the foldedback upper part the products for transport and storage are placed on topof the upper part (see FIG. 5b). The upper side of these upper partsform as it were a soft ‘mattress’, certainly when a relatively largenumber of small holders is present. Packaging devices in this embodimentare suitable for transporting or storing relatively small vulnerableobjects, such as small fruit such as strawberries, cherries, grapes, andalso other vulnerable objects, such as flowers and the like, for whichseparate packaging is not viable. This embodiment is also suitable forheavier shapes such as for instance chocolate letters which, byarranging their shape in the so-called mattress, are enclosed by therest of the mattress and are thereby firmly packaged. It is alsopossible to apply the upper part in folded-out form, wherein the base ofFIG. 5a is applied on the other side (and with adjustment of or withoutstanding side).

[0018] The above described holders can be produced from a sheet ofthermoplastic plastic. It is known to the skilled person how to heat apart of a sheet of thermoplastic plastic within a form the size of thestanding cover layer in a dome-shaped mould of the desired form and topress it in plasticized state against the mould from which the productis removed after cooling. In order to produce a holder in the preferredembodiment which consists of two or more parts which is profiled withcontinuous ribs, the mould is of course cast in this desired form. Thepreferred embodiment can then still be adjusted when cold, such as forinstance folding back of the domed upper parts of the holder.

[0019] In order to produce a packaging device which consists of aplurality of holders, a plurality of parts is pressed in the same numberof moulds from a sheet of thermoplastic plastic and further processed inthe manner indicated above.

[0020] It will be apparent to the skilled person that the inventiveconcept enables a wide application and is certainly not limited to thegiven examples, which are only used by way of illustration.

1. Holder for transport and storage of delicate goods, characterized inthat the holder consists of a rectangular bottom surface (6) whichencloses a standing round cover layer resting thereon and situatedaround an opening in the bottom surface, wherein the round cover layerconsists of two parts, i.e. a wall-shaped lower part (1) and a domedupper part (3).
 2. Holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper partis thinner than the lower part.
 3. Holder as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe upper part is at least twice, preferably at least ten times and morepreferably at least twenty times thinner than the lower part.
 4. Holderas claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that theholder consists of thermoformed plastic.
 5. Holder as claimed in claim4, characterized in that the thermoformed plastic is one of thematerials polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene or polyvinylchloride.
 6. Holder as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, whereinthe upper part has a smaller diameter than the lower part.
 7. Holder asclaimed in claim 6, wherein the diameter of the upper part is at least 1mm smaller than that of the lower part.
 8. Holder as claimed in any ofthe foregoing claims, characterized in that the two parts of the coverlayer are profiled in the same manner.
 9. Holder as claimed in claim 8,characterized in that the two parts of the cover layer are provided withcontinuous ribs.
 10. Holder as claimed in any of the foregoing claims,characterized in that the lower part stands conically on the bottomsurface.
 11. Holder as claimed in any of the foregoing claims,characterized in that the upper part consists of a plurality of partswhich are increasingly thinner as seen from the lower part.
 12. Holderas claimed in any of the foregoing claims, characterized in that whenfolded back the upper part is higher than the bottom surface.
 13. Holderas claimed in any of the claims 1-11, characterized in that when foldedback the upper part is lower than the bottom surface.
 14. Packagingdevice for transport and storage of delicate goods, characterized inthat the bottom surfaces (6) of a plurality of holders as described inclaim 12 form a base (7).
 15. Packaging device for transport and storageof delicate goods, characterized in that the bottom surfaces (6) of aplurality of holders as described in claim 13 form a base (7). 16.Method for producing a holder as described in claims 1-13, characterizedin that a part of a sheet of thermoplastic plastic within a form thesize of the standing cover layer is heated in a dome-shaped mould of thedesired form and is pressed in plasticized state against the mould fromwhich the product is removed after cooling.
 17. Method as claimed inclaim 16 for producing a packaging device as described in claims 14 and15, characterized in that a plurality of parts of a sheet ofthermoplastic plastic are heated.
 18. Application of the packagingdevice as described in claim 14, characterized in that the delicategoods are transported and/or stored in the holders in folded-backposition.
 19. Application of the packaging device as described in claim15, characterized in that the delicate goods are transported and/orstored on top of the upper part of the holders.